Christmas is Coming
by MeredithBrody
Summary: Meredith Brody had big plans for Christmas, but when a case comes up that changes her original plan she struggles to figure out how she feels. (canon-compliant (for the most part))(Brames)
1. Chapter 1

**I wasn't feeling very Christmassy this year, but it's tradition to write a Christmas fic... So I put the song "Nothing for Christmas" by New Found Glory on repeat and this came out. It's 5 chapters long, and is canon-compliant, for the most part. It also stays in line with my fics "Everything Old is New Again", "I Have Loved You From The Start", "Open" and "Speak Soft".  
-Shin xx**

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Meredith Brody felt like the last few years had passed so quickly, and that was what made it hard to sit still. She just felt like she should be doing something. Tomorrow would be Christmas Eve, and she'd be joining the mass exodus from New Orleans to travel to Virginia. Which would also mean re-introducing her parents to the current man in her life, and probably the only one she'd been serious about since she was sixteen. As usual, she hadn't known James was going to see her for Christmas, but he'd turned up two nights earlier and told her that he was done with assignments for the year, and hoped that she'd let him stay.

Really, that had been a no brainer for her. Since they'd reconnected in March she'd fallen for him hard again, not that she let anyone else know that. All she knew was that she'd started this year thinking that she was never really going to settle down, even though she'd been with Sam, she'd known that wasn't serious. Not like she'd wanted. Sure, life with James also wasn't what she wanted, or what she thought she wanted. Did the circumstances matter when you loved someone. "What you thinking MB?" Was muttered, followed by lips on her shoulder. Of course he was awake, he probably even knew that she was overthinking.

"Nothing much, just about us." She left that dangling, and she saw the momentary look of worry on James' face. For some reason it felt nice, in a strange way, to know that James was serious enough about their relationship this time to actually be worried that she was thinking about them. Given that the last time she gave them serious thought she'd left him, taken a new assignment and mailed him his ring back, he probably had reason to worry.

"What about us?" He eventually asked, and she decided that keeping him in suspense probably wasn't entirely fair. Though the earnest innocence in his face made her smile again. It reminded her of both how she'd ended up falling for him all those years ago, and also how much he just wanted them to be alright this time around. He even made more effort to stay in contact, that was brand new for him.

"Nothing bad, I promise." She said, just reaching out and stroking his cheek softly. She wondered how long he'd actually been awake, as he didn't seem at all sleepy. Had they just been laid next to each other, awake and thinking, again. James was long since used to her insomniac tendencies, so he wouldn't have been surprised. He just laid there patiently watching her, waiting for her to continue telling him what she was thinking about. "Just how I remember saying that I wanted a normal relationship, but that I wouldn't change this for anything." That was the simplest way to put it, she thought.

"I know what you mean." He laughed a little and turned his face to kiss her palm before looking back at her with a wide smile. That was the smile she didn't get to see often enough. The one that told her he was just happy. Nothing more sinister or serious. James was just happy, and that made her happier. "Meredith... I know that this isn't exactly what you want, an absent boyfriend... But I can't imagine my life without you." He said, and she felt a catch in her chest. Every time he said something like that she knew she'd made the right decision to give him another chance. Of course, he wasn't done at that though. "I need you to be my home."

"That sounds remarkably familiar." She smirked and shook her head, thinking back to the first time she'd heard him say that. She was pretty sure that had been the day he'd asked her to marry him, and the day she'd said absolutely. Brody had known then that he was the best match for her, but it hadn't lasted that time. "I think you said that... when you proposed."

"Hasn't changed." James smiled, and she was trying to think of a response to that when she heard her cell ringing, and she inwardly groaned, recognising the tone she'd assigned for Pride. The last thing she needed right now was for them to get a case. She was going away in the morning, she actually had company, and it was almost Christmas. For the first time in years she'd been looking forward to Christmas, and so she didn't need a case. Maybe Pride was just calling to tell her she'd done a good job and he'd see her on the 28th. That was almost too much to hope.

Almost as soon as she answered the call, she recognised the sound of the sirens in the car, and knew that her secret hope of Pride just wishing her well for the holiday season was entirely off base. Clearly James could hear it too, as the look on his face told him he could hear the commotion from Pride's end of the call. "Brody, we have a case." He said simply, and she groaned inwardly, looking at James as she answered.

"It's December 23rd, Pride." She complained, as if reminding him of the date was actually going to change anything. It was just that she'd had plans. It was rare she even thought about making them, because whenever she did this would inevitably happen. Though she hadn't told anyone at work that James was back in town. She didn't need to have that conversation with them right now.

"Remind me to tell the criminals that." The reply was sarcastic, and more than a little snippy. That was when she remembered that Pride had already missed Thanksgiving with his daughter because of a case, she was sure he wasn't relishing the idea of missing Christmas too. "I'll text you the address." He finished, and she just grumbled to herself, deciding that it wasn't a clever idea to antagonise the boss at this time of night, or in this sort of situation.

"Fine." She wasn't in the mood to continue to speaking to him, so she just hung up, then turned to James, deciding that sitting up was a better choice. At least that way she wouldn't be tempted to either fall back to sleep, or just start cuddling in to James like she wanted to, and pretend that she hadn't just been called into work, meaning she would probably have to stay in New Orleans over Christmas after all.

"You got a case?" He asked as he sat up beside her, and she was pretty sure the question wasn't actually one that James needed to ask. Brody had been called on probably hundreds of cases in similar situations to this. Where she'd snuck out of their bed leaving him asleep, or during a date. They'd never actually finished a date because one or the other of them was called to work.

"Yeah, raincheck on this conversation?" She asked, knowing that one way or another this was going to be a topic they returned too. This time it seemed they both wanted for this to work, and that would actually require communication and dedication, on both their parts. She groaned again at the thought of going to work, as she really didn't want to deal with death and destruction this close to Christmas.

"Of course." He nodded, taking hold of her hand softly. She just watched him for a second, as he never did that unless he was trying to stop her from leaving. Normally because he had something else to say. She just watched until he looked up at her and smirked a little. "Text me when you're on your way home, I'll make you some food."

"You gone domestic on me?" She said, slightly in shock. Not that she minded either, if James wanted to try his hand at actually being a domesticated boyfriend, she wasn't going to stop him. It actually made her laugh, and for some reason her mind gave her the image of James in a French maid's uniform. She may had to remember that one and suggest it to him at a later date.

"I thought I'd give it a try." He laughed and squeezed her hand lightly. She knew that at times like this he hated that she was going into what could, potentially, be dangerous. He never used to worry so much about her, now though, he didn't seem to stop. As they sat there another minute longer he lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it softly, then dropped it and nodded to her gently. "Go."

"I'll text you." She repeated then leant over and kissed him softly. They had finally been having an honest conversation about where they were heading in their relationship this time, and of course, they were interrupted. They would continue at a later date, and given that she was fairly sure James was considering proposing again, she didn't mind the pause in that, as she needed to think how she actually wanted to answer that question.

Her thoughts remained on James as she changed and got herself over to the scene, just thinking about what he'd said, and what he'd implied. There was a lot that was going to go in to how she felt about this, but as she approached the scene she knew she needed to focus, sliding out of the car she saw an NOPD cop she knew quite well, Craig Huby, and clearly he spotted her too. "Agent Brody, you got an interesting one here. Merry Christmas."

"Hey, what have we got?" She asked, deciding that if he could give her a hint before she walked in, she'd have an instant of being ahead of Pride telling her. Hopefully that would mollify her boss after she'd been less than enthusiastic response on the phone. Not that Pride would actually care all that much, she'd given worse responses before, of that she was certain.

"Go inside and have a look for yourself." Craig said, and the expression on his face was so carefully neutral Brody suddenly momentarily wondered if this was actually some weird type of surprise party. She didn't think Pride would have been able to act that grumpy on the phone if it had been though. After a beat Craig continued talking, and what he said made a shiver go up Brody's back. "Not sure I can describe it." He nodded opening the door for her, and as she stepped through she knew that he was right, and the scene in front of her was pretty indescribable.

"This... is going to take longer than a couple of days." She muttered as she walked up to where LaSalle and Pride were stood taking photos of the victim who had quite clearly had his head replaced with a chicken. That was disturbing enough, the other victim looked like he, or she, had been fused with half a sheep. So many questions occurred to her about this scene, and not one of them was ever going to make sense to people who didn't see this.

"Yeah, looks like I'm cancelling my trip home to 'Bama." LaSalle said, and if possible he actually sounded grumpier than she did. Given everything that had happened to him this year, he'd probably needed a trip back to his family even more than she had. At least she wasn't the only one who was having to cancel plans, for some sadistic reason that made her feel better. There was something wrong with her, she just didn't know what.

"Christmas is on hold, I probably don't need to tell anyone that." Pride nodded, and it seemed obvious that he was as pissed off about that fact as everyone else. Especially since Pride had mentioned that Linda had gone away for the holidays, meaning Laurel had nowhere else to go for the day. Christmas was ruined for a lot more than just the NCIS team in this situation.

"I'm meant to be leaving for Virginia in the morning." Even though she knew Pride's situation, she couldn't help but grumble about the fact that she wasn't going to be going home too. Her mind flashed back to James, laid in her bed falling asleep again, just as she'd left him a little earlier. Laurel wasn't the only one going to be stuck alone for Christmas.

"I don't think you'll be going." LaSalle commented, and Brody had to resist the urge to throttle him. That wasn't exactly what she needed to hear, though it was something that was becoming more and more apparent the more she looked around this room. It was the strangest little room, not even counting the very strange scene in the middle. She was going to just write down her observations and continue talking about normal things, as something that didn't seem totally screwed up needed to be going on too.

"You don't say." She snapped, and almost instantly regretted it. LaSalle probably didn't deserve to get the brunt of her anger about this, but it was happening anyway. It also meant that she was going to need to call her mother as soon as she possibly could, because if she didn't it wouldn't be worth breathing. Olivia Brody would make her life harder than she already did. "I need to call my mom."

"It can wait until we get back to the office." Was all she heard as the two men started turning, to go back to taking photos. That meant she and Percy were going to be in charge of documenting the scene, Brody's least favourite job, and the one thing that she was certain she would never actually master. Right now though, at least it was something to stop her obsessing.

"Goddammit." She muttered as she started walking around the outside of the room. Marking down the positions of evidence on the hastily drawn grid she'd made up. She hated doing this, but she needed to do it. Maybe this would just be a crazy who would confess as soon as they caught them, meaning their team would be able to go home. That was probably not something she should hope for, but she did.

"My sentiments exactly." Percy muttered as she walked past Brody in the opposite direction. Brody hadn't been certain what the other woman had been planning for her few days off, but clearly her plans had been interrupted too. Why couldn't criminals take a break over Christmas too, it wasn't as if the investigation services didn't deserve some down time as well. Though, the likelihood of the bad guys thinking about the good guys seemed unlikely. Brody was still going to grumble about this, at least for a few hours. It looked like she wasn't going to be going home for Christmas after all.


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm going to post all before midnight on the East Coast of the US... Which gives me 9 hours to finish it up. Merry Christmas everyone.  
-Shin xx**

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The office was oddly quiet, though that could easily have been because LaSalle was at the morgue with Loretta and Sebastian. He'd been fascinated by the victims, and for the first time ever Brody could remember, LaSalle had volunteered to be the one who travelled with them. Right now Brody was running the prints, while Percy was scanning the photos they'd got from the scene. Both were tedious, but necessary, parts of their jobs. As they were working, Brody looked up and smiled, deciding now was as good a time as any to ask what Percy had been planning on doing. "So Sonja, what plans did you have for Christmas?"

"I was gonna see my momma, don't get to see her all that often." Percy smiled, and Brody was struck by the fact that all of the agents seemed to have been planning the same thing for Christmas, just happening across three different states with three different families. Why that was amusing to her she'd probably never really know, but it was, and she was going to have to think about that in great detail at a later date.

"We were all going home for it then?" She laughed a little, and after a second of thinking it seemed like Percy found that as funny as Brody had. At least she wasn't alone in laughing at it for reasons surpassing understanding. They would have to work that out in the end, but right now Brody was willing to write it off to the fact they were going to have to work through Christmas, and that everyone in their profession was, by definition, a little crazy. They needed to be to do what they did.

"Seems so, that's why you were going to Virginia?" Percy asked, and Brody nodded. She had made a big deal about how she was from Michigan, and she'd always been proud of that, but her parents hadn't lived in Michigan for years now, and that meant when she did take a trip to visit, she went to Virginia. It was easier to do that than have them all travelling every time. It would also have been a nice chance to catch up, something that they hadn't done much, even when her mom had been in New Orleans.

"Yeah, mom and dad haven't seen me that much the last couple of years." She admitted, and that seemed to have started when she moved to New Orleans. She'd finally been comfortable somewhere, and that meant she hadn't wanted to move so much, besides, the distance hadn't seemed as great when she was further north. "Since I moved south. I was a little closer in Illinois or Ohio."

"I bet." Percy nodded, then her whole face changed into a more conspiratorial smirk. For some reason, Brody was automatically suspicious when one of her colleagues gave her a look like that, as it normally meant that she was about to get teased about something. It was amazing how they all had the same expression. Maybe it was a New Orleans thing. "I saw you out with a certain ex-fiance last night." Percy's smirk just grew, and Brody had to retrace their steps to figure out where Percy could have seen them.

"How'd you see that?" She had to ask in the end, because she just couldn't figure out where Percy could have seen them. Normally she was so careful about seeing her colleagues when she didn't want to be seen. Especially when she was with a guy, even if that guy was someone they knew about, and they all definitely knew about James.

"You went to that diner on Dumaine, I live round the corner." Percy replied with a wide smirk and laughed a little. Percy seemed way too proud of herself for actually having caught Brody out and about in the real world given that she went out with them a few times a week. This time it just wasn't necessarily pre-planned. "Was nice to see you out."

"Oh." That was the only comment she could actually think to say. She really just wanted to move on, but she knew her colleagues better than that. They wouldn't stop at that, and obviously, Percy fit in completely with the boys for that. She was as nosy as they were, and James seemed like a subject of special interest for all of them.

Especially since it was obvious that Percy wasn't going to give up. Clearly she had decided to keep needling her about the fact that she hadn't mentioned James was in town. Of course, she had decided that she wanted that to be kept private, at least for now. Unsurprisingly not one of them really cared about James, they just liked to tease. "Didn't know he was in town."

"That was a surprise, but he was coming to Virginia with me." She explained, because she hoped that that would keep Percy at bay. At least for now. When she looked up however, it was obvious from her expression that she was gonna ask something else, so Brody decided that just heading that off was a better idea. "For some reason my mom always loved him."

"Loved who?" She heard said from behind her, and she didn't need to look to recognise Pride had come up behind her. Brody had to resist the urge to sigh, but she knew they were always going to be curious. Truthfully, that was one of the things she liked most about this place. There was never a doubt about who they cared about, and what mattered most.

"The ex-fiance is back." Percy grinned at Pride as he handed them each a mug. Brody was just thankful for the coffee, and therefore didn't say something quickly enough, meaning that Percy could continue talking. The grin just got wider as she clearly enjoyed being the one to tell Pride the rest of the conversation. "They were gonna Christmas together."

"You like telling people that, don't you?" Brody had to ask, because the joy on Percy's face really said it all. She was clearly thrilled about being able to tell everyone that James was back in the city, and maybe more than that, was back in a more permanent fashion into Brody's life. How that had happened she still wasn't entirely certain.

"Yeah, a little bit. He's cute, you two make a good couple." Percy smiled then took a long sip of her drink. For a second Brody just stared at her, the last thing she really expected anyone to think was that she and James made a good anything. Hardly anyone had ever thought that, including herself. Mostly she thought they annoyed each other.

"They do, don't they?" Pride agreed with a smile, and Brody just continued wondering when this change had happened. Maybe it was because the people here knew her better than anywhere else she'd worked. Friends hadn't been something she'd had a lot of in the last decade or so. "I'm glad you're happy Brody." He continued, reaching out to squeeze her shoulder again.

"Thanks." Was all she could think of at first to say in response to that. She felt like, all of a sudden, she was living in the twilight zone and she was going to need a minute to recover from that. Actually investigating this case would probably be the best distraction, and that way maybe she and James could make it to Virginia in time for the New Year. "Can we focus on work please, I would like to maybe get home for New Year instead."

"Alright, you should invite him for Christmas here, if we're gonna be stuck here." Percy smiled then turned to Pride with an even bigger grin, which made Brody almost certain that Percy suddenly had some sort of plan. "Pride, you could bring your daughter too. Make it a group Christmas. Maybe Doc Wade could bring her boys."

"We're supposed to be working." She commented, even if Pride and Percy wanted to plan some sort of Christmas meal, she really wasn't in the mood to help. Especially not if it was going to mean her making an unintentional fool of herself, which was almost guaranteed to happen if she was expected to cook anything.

"You're doing a great job at that." Came yet another voice, though this one was far more unexpected, and much more unfamiliar to the other two people in the room. They both just stopped speaking and looked up, while Brody smirked to herself and shook her head. James' surprise appearances had long since stopped surprising her.

Brody decided to just block out her colleagues for the moment, because it just wasn't really going to work if she didn't. They would distract her, and she would completely forget what she was trying to do. "What are you doing here?" She asked, stepping up to him and smiling a little.

"You never text, I thought I'd bring you some dinner straight here since you've been gone all day, and I had nothing better to do." James smiled and held up a couple of bags that were clearly filled with food. He obviously decided he was going to feed the entire team, not just her. That was quite cute.

"I like this domestic you." She smirked and took one of the bags, mostly so she'd have a cover to gently squeeze his hand, then she turned to Pride and Percy with a smile. "You remember Percy, Pride and LaSalle… should be here but he's not back yet." She had actually forgotten, for a moment, that LaSalle wasn't in the room with them. The half-man half-sheep victim had definitely peaked his interest. At least she could reintroduce him to the others.

"Yeah, how are you all?" He smiled stepping more into the office, giving them all a smile. Brody just motioned him through to the kitchen, just wondering if that would be enough to convince Pride and Percy to give them a minute, though as soon as they started talking, James stopped walking.

"We were just discussing what to do since we're stuck here for Christmas." Pride said with a smile and motioned around the room. At least the bullpen was decorated for Christmas, she and Percy had made sure of that a week earlier. They'd both been feeling like they needed more Christmas feeling in here, and so now it looked like a tinsel-bomb had exploded all over the bullpen.

"No chance of getting away?" James asked then turned back to her, clearly trying to show that he was asking her more than the others. Though she was absolutely certain than Pride and Percy would both want to answer, they managed to bite their tongues. At least for now. She wasn't sure that would hold if she didn't do something to change it.

"Don't think so, I already called mom, but I…" She stopped and looked toward Pride and Percy, who were both watching them with interest. Actually knowing they were being watched made her feel a little more self conscious, especially when she saw that LaSalle had finally made it back from the coroner's office, so she just took James' hand and pulled him out to the courtyard, knowing that nobody would follow them out there. It was an unspoken rule of the office. "Hold on let's talk outside."

James followed her out to courtyard and looked back into the office, where the other three agents had finally gone back to doing their work. "Nosy group of federal agents there." He commented, looking and smiled a little at her. It was obvious that he was thinking all of this was hilarious.

"You're a mystery to them." She smiled, knowing exactly why they were all that interested in James. Maybe she needed to make it so that he was less interesting to them, because she could be sure that if they spent any amount of time with him, he would become far less interesting to them. "Anyway. We're thinking of doing something here, and I'd really like you to stay."

"MB, what I said earlier… it's not changed." James just came out and said it, and she blinked a couple of times. She'd never doubted that, but it was clear that James truly meant that. "This is home to me, and I'm not going anywhere." He took her hand again and smiled widely, clearly wanting to continue reassuring her, like every time they were together recently.

"I gotta go back to work." She smiled, once again squeezing his hand. She knew that she needed to go back to work, but she really didn't want to. Brody had to admit to herself that she was glad she'd be able to at least eat and work at the same time, and so she kind of hoped that James would stick around for that. "You sticking around?"

"Your boss not gonna worry having a journalist around the place?" He asked with a smirk. That would, normally, be a concern, but since she trusted James to be around here Pride would be too. That was another one of the things that had become an unspoken rule. It was a little like the mob, if someone was vouched for, that meant they were allowed.

"I trust you, so he will too." Once upon a time she never would have said that, because even if she did trust him she never would have told anyone else that they could. All of a sudden though she had changed her mind on that, a few months earlier she'd decided that. Now she knew that was the better idea.

"I've got my laptop in the car, I can work on the story I'm writing." He then smiled watching her, clearly realising exactly how tired she was already feeling, and she had to work a while yet. She probably would have struggled to get home if this continued on as late as she was expecting. "Drive you home later."

"I'll think about that, I've driven with you before." She teased, then just kissed him softly before stepping away. Her team in New Orleans were definitely her chosen family, and if they were choosing to let James in as well, it was just a sign that maybe she was in the right place. Two years had gone fast here, and she hoped that she could beat the reassignment urge she normally got at that point. She wanted to settle here, and maybe this time it would last.


	3. Chapter 3

Brody had just wanted to fall asleep, she'd pushed herself too far and sleep had happened. The dream she'd been having had been a very pleasant one, but she was roused from it by a persistent and annoying recitation of her name. A name she was very seriously considering changing right now. "MB." She grumbled, mostly because she knew exactly who it was that was trying to talk to her. Even if she hadn't known, she could have guessed because James was both the only Brit who had been in their office for a while and the only person who still regularly called her 'MB'.

"Shush please, I'm sleeping." She grumbled, refusing to even lift her head up from where it had landed on the desk. While she knew that wasn't going to stop James, she kind of hoped that it would distract him for long enough for her to fall back to sleep. She had been properly asleep, and now she wanted more, because she was really tired and she had no idea how she would make it home.

"I'm well aware of that, it's why I'm here right now." James laughed, and from the direction of his voice Brody was willing to bet that he'd crouched next to her desk. Maybe she could find him and push him over so he'd let her go back to sleep. Though she knew him better than that, it probably wouldn't work.

"Not very comfortable." She admitted after a few more seconds, moving a little more and feeling the muscles in her sides complaining at the sudden movements. She bit her tongue rather than admitting that this was a bad choice of position, instead hoping that even though she was still mostly asleep.

"Come on MB, home time." He muttered, and she felt him take hold of the back of her chair to turn her away from her desk. Maybe it was being moved a little that finally forced her to open her eyes and realise that she was actually still at work, and that she really needed to go home. It was never a good sign for the agents to be asleep at the office, though it had happened more than once.

"I fell asleep." She mumbled, probably stating the truth but it was almost a revelation to her. Sometimes sleep was not exactly what she expected, and when she started waking up properly it always surprised her that she'd actually been asleep. James just stood laughing at her, and that annoyed her for some reason.

"Yes you did. Pride got me from upstairs when you did." She sat up a little more, more of it all coming back to her. Maybe she'd worked a little bit too hard, and she had no actual idea how long she'd been awake before. "He already sent Percy and LaSalle home, and went to bed himself." That seemed like a good idea, obviously they'd all been exhausted. Sometimes, cases just got to them all, and that was when things like this happened. All the agents falling asleep at their desks.

"This case, J." She shook her head, standing up and letting James wrap his arm around her. It actually did feel good to have that little bit of support. She wasn't sure if that was because she was so exhausted she couldn't guarantee she'd not just fall over, or because it meant she could rest on him and pretend the case wasn't as bad as it was.

"I know." He replied, and she just looked at him for a moment. She was about to ask how he knew, then she remembered all the stories he'd reported on that had been emotionally taxing, and she realised that he probably understood how she felt for some of these cases better than anyone who wasn't a member of their profession. Maybe that was why they matched so well. It also meant he'd understand why the idea of coming back here was upsetting her.

"I have to come back to it tomorrow too." That was something she was dreading. She wasn't sure if she could keep doing cases like this. Especially on Christmas. It was supposed to be a celebration, the time of year where they could all try and forget about horrors like this. Cases at this time of year always seemed to hit her harder than at others.

James started walking her out of the building and a little ways along the street toward his hire car. He just gave her a gentle squeeze as they got toward the car, and then said one of the most welcome things she could have imagined. "Yes you do, but Pride said there was no rush to get in early."

"Why not?" She asked quietly, trying to think of the last time Pride had ever told her something like that. Or any of them. She didn't remember the last time they were told not to be there early when they had a case. Though it was true, he probably needed his agents to rest. You could never guess the time in this city, but she figured it was late.

"Because it's already quarter to 12. Let's get you home." James grinned as he unlocked the car, and she felt him press a light kiss to her cheek. She probably looked drunk to any casual watcher, though she was certain that everyone on the street knew that that building was the NCIS office, so they may figure she was exhausted too.

"Our home." She grinned, thinking about the way that that sounded. She and James had been looking at houses when he'd left the first time they were together, so if they could skip that process, she would already feel like they were making improvements. What she'd really learnt over the last few months was that she really wanted him to be in her life.

"Yeah, if that's what you want?" He answered neutrally as he helped her into the car. That was when she seriously thought about what she'd said. He had a point about that, she needed to think it through properly, not make the decision when she was exhausted. Those decisions never tended to be the best.

"Ask me again when I'm awake." She shook her head and frowned a little. She wanted it to be their home, but given that she was half asleep she couldn't be sure that she was thinking straight. Sleep was calling her again. As soon as she got settled in the car she leant against the door and closed her eyes, just intending to rest for a minute. She was just so sleepy still, and since James was driving she didn't need to pay attention.

It seemed like seconds later she was being lightly shook from the other side of the car, and after a moment she heard James speak to try and rouse her. "MB, come on dear." He said, shaking her again. She grumbled a little as she opened her eyes and glared at him, though she wasn't sure what she was glaring about specifically. It could have been the endearment or the fact he'd woken her up.

"Dear?" She questioned then pushed herself up a little more and looked around, realising they were on the driveway. It didn't feel like she'd been home long enough for that, but given she'd been asleep, she couldn't really judge. "We home already?" It was a stupid question, she could see the house, but somehow it rolled off her tongue before she could stop it.

"Yeah, you were asleep the whole time." He smiled instead of giving her a hard time and just pulled her to her feet. It was one way to make sure that she got out of the car. Though she wasn't going to guarantee that she would have been able to walk to her bed without assistance. James clearly knew that, as he just wrapped his arm around her. "Bedtime."

"You're being really nice to me right now." She commented, because while James could be a lovely person, he wasn't normally that guy. Most of the time he would point and laugh rather than be helpful. Maybe he was growing, like he said he was going to try. It was about damn time. Not that she'd ever want him to change too much.

"You fell asleep at your desk and during a 20 minute ride home. You need someone to be nice to you." His laughter made her smile, because she had woken him up more than once from his office when he'd been working on a story. She wasn't the only one in this relationship who would get tunnelvision during a particularly intense period of work.

"What about the cooking, that was nice too." She had to point out the fact that he'd cooked for her, and the rest of her team. That wasn't necessarily just nice. That was him really, truly trying to show her that he cared about her, and that he loved her. It was his strange little way.

"I like being nice to you." He said as he managed to get her up the stairs. That was almost certainly going to be a problem if she was on her own, so she was once again grateful that James was there with her. It was making this easier than it normally would have been. Walking in to the bedroom she realised for the first time that James was looking almost as tired as she felt.

"Now you look sleepy too." She kissed his cheek and walked away a little, rooting through her drawers to find a clean pair of pyjamas. Clearly, laundry day was approaching as she didn't have any easily to hand. That was another mental note she was going to make then forget. "I'm getting in my pyjamas."

"You do that, I'll watch." James smirked, pulling his shirt off then sitting on the edge of the bed. It was hilarious to her that he was looking a cheerful and happy right now. She was busy and tired and just really wanted to get in her Pjs in peace. "I do like to watch." James continued as she just continued getting changed.

She grumbled, because she knew he would enjoy watching her get changed. Often she enjoyed watching him too, but right now she was far too tired for either of those things, or what they normally led to. She tried to think of a way to convince him to stop, and probably a threat would work. "One day I'll tie you up in tinsel and make you watch."

"I'm not going to refuse that." OK, so she had made it a little more suggestive than she'd originally intended, and clearly James thought that was hilarious too. "Come on, to bed." He pulled her back toward the bed and she just let him, as soon as she saw the covers she curled up underneath it and smiled when James got in behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Goodnight J." She said quietly. Just wanting to say another, final, goodnight before she actually gave up and fell asleep. Somehow it always worked for her that if she said goodnight to him she'd feel like she could sleep. She'd been doing that in texts for weeks, and he'd tried to reply whenever he could.

"Merry Christmas." Was his only reply, and for a second she had to think of the time, and realised he was probably right. That actually didn't make it feel like it was Christmas, nor did it make her feel like she should be celebrating. Especially not when she was going to have to go back to work in a few hours.

"Shut up." She laughed a little and shook her head, settling down in front of him again, laying back how she'd seemed to fall asleep most when he was nearby. Their foreheads almost touching, just enough that it was easy to kiss him while she was falling asleep. This had never been them, but this time they had both found themselves in this position more often than before.

"It's Christmas eve." He answered, and she could sense the smile on his face. She didn't need to open her eyes to see that. Especially when he uttered his next sentence, the one that proved he still knew her better than anyone. "You love Christmas." He kissed her softly, and she just smiled to herself. Christmas had always been her favourite time of year.

"I love Christmas more when I'm awake." She mumbled. Being this tired all she wanted was to sleep, but there was that part of her that knew James wasn't always going to be around, and that was what kept her awake, and kept her talking while it was obvious that she should have been sound asleep.

James knew it too, she could tell that, but he was probably in a similar position. He knew he'd be leaving soon, and talking was more what she wanted. "Then in the morning." He asked, and she smirked a little more. It wasn't really a question, it was more of a statement, but he tried. She just wasn't in the mood to really think too much about it all.

"Yeah, I'll actually give you a better Christmas morning then, half Christmas anyway since it's not real Christmas." Once upon a time she'd said that Christmas started at midnight on Christmas Eve, and ended after the 26th, Boxing Day as James called it. It was a three day celebration, and she just loved it all.

"You wanna save it til Christmas Day?" James asked, and she felt him reposition slightly, if possible pulling her even closer. She wasn't going to complain about that though, as she felt like it suited them even more to lay like this.

"Yes, then you can come to work with me." She was pretty sure that she'd never, ever said those words to James before. But Percy had convinced them with her Christmas idea, and having all her friends together for Christmas would be nice, and it would be even better with James there beside her. "Sleep now, J." She pushed, but couldn't help smiling as he pulled her into his arms, her back against his chest. When they were first together, they'd liked their space when they slept. Years later, and a second chance, had shown them both that they didn't want that distance any longer. This was how she wanted to spend her nights now, and she enjoyed it when she could.


	4. Chapter 4

Walking into the office Brody was already ready for the comments. It was almost midday, and she really didn't mind, as she'd actually managed to get a whole night's sleep, and she hadn't been dreaming about the case. It meant that she was ready to face it all, but she was also well aware that Percy and LaSally would find a way to tease her about something. "I heard Hugh Grant fiance came and took you home last night?" Percy started almost as soon as she was through the door.

"James took me home, yeah. I fell asleep at my desk." She pointed to the rather haphazard positioning of almost everything on her desk. She had tried to put things straight before she'd left, she'd also managed to fail at that, but she had made the attempt.

"When Pride sent the rest of us you refused to leave." LaSalle commented from his seat, and all she could do was shake her head and look at him. She always refused to leave until she was unconscious, or near enough. It was why she used the other room here more than anyone else.

"Notice she's late in this morning too." Percy grinned, and all Brody could do was roll her eyes. Oh if only it was for why Percy thought, but she hadn't been. Mostly she'd just slept late, then James had driven her in and gone to look up something for a story he was planning in the New Year. She didn't blame him for working now, since she wasn't there anyway.

"Pride said for me to stay in bed and get a good sleep." OK, so she was paraphrasing something that Pride had said to James, but she'd had no reason to doubt him, and given that she hadn't been called to get her up, she was willing to accept that James had been completely truthful about that.

"That's 'cause he's made friends with your boyfriend." There was a hint of defensive annoyance in that complaint, and all Brody could do was smile. It seemed like Pride was good at making friends with the partners. She remembered how quickly he'd taken to Orion, and how he'd sorted that out for Laurel so quickly.

"He's not been my boyfriend for a while now LaSalle." Was her only response. James had proposed, again, several months earlier. She'd kept it quiet, but the team all knew, so it really was surprising to her that LaSalle, particularly, still insisted on calling him her boyfriend.

"Feels better than calling him your fiance." Came another grumpy response, and Brody wondered if maybe LaSalle hadn't gotten enough sleep. That would probably be a problem for them all. Because a grumpy LaSalle was rarely a pleasure to work with.

"I don't want to know what is going on in that weird little mind of yours." She shook her head, laughing loudly. That was the strangest reason anyone had ever given her for, well, anything. LaSalle and James hadn't really spent any time together though, but she hoped that when they did they got on.

"Nothing is probably the answer." Came a quiet little comment, and after a moment of silence, the office was suddenly overcome with the sound of laughter. Percy and Brody herself both struggling to control the sudden explosion of noise. Percy's comment was just so sudden.

"Hey!" LaSalle's response sounded simultaneously amused and offended, and Brody couldn't help but laugh even harder. It just came out perfectly, and Percy's timing had been impeccable. Sometimes Brody really thought they would make a half decent comedy troupe if the whole 'federal agent' thing didn't work out.

Percy instead turned back to Brody, and it was obvious that she just wanted to change the subject from what could or could not be going on in LaSalle's mind. That was something that neither of them ever truly wanted to delve into. "So what are you and James going to do since you can't go to see momma Brody for Christmas?"

"I'm guessing that we'll just be here with you guys. James is suddenly being really domestic." He had literally never had a domestic bone in his body until a few days earlier, then all of a sudden he was cooking and cleaning and doing all the things that he normally avoided doing until the last possible minute. If she didn't know it was physically impossible she'd wonder if he was pregnant. "He cooked for us all yesterday remember."

"Yeah that was weird." Percy agreed, and at least Brody could report back to her beloved that they all thought it was weird that he'd decided to feed them all. He was clearly really quite bored at home with nothing to do. Maybe spoiling the NCIS agents was his way of relieving that.

"Good food though." LaSalle smirked, and all Brody could do was laugh at how typical it was that LaSalle had been the one to mention food. He had eaten the most of what James had brought in, while Sonja's selection had been considerably smaller, but she'd demolished that too.

"Alright kids, back to work. We have a killer to catch." Pride shook his head walking in, and Brody momentarily wondered how long he'd been watching them. He did have a habit of letting them blow off steam this way then coming in and pushing them back into work. It was one way to make sure they did what was needed she guessed.

They all went on to doing the work they needed to do, and after spending most of the day out of the office or working in Scif, Brody was getting fed up, and obviously that was becoming obvious to Pride. This amount of work should have distracted her, but really it was just making her think more. As they were writing down some more notes on the interview they'd just conducted Pride looked up at her, clearly a little worried. "You've been quiet today?"

"Yeah? I'm just thinking." She didn't even try to deny that. He'd see right through it anyway, and she just wasn't in the mood for him to question her about everything. Admitting she was thinking would reduce it to the most minor of questions, and hopefully she would be able to answer.

"About?" He prodded, and she should have known that he wouldn't let it go at just being her thinking. But she was going to try to answer, maybe that would help her figure out some of her own feelings. That's what she needed. Though another thing she needed was to know she would be happy here.

"I'm not even sure." She shrugged then really thought, about all of it, and why she'd been so desperate to get away from New Orleans for a few days. "Maybe the reason I was so determined to get away and add some distance was because normally… approaching two years somewhere, I'm getting ready to move on." Two years was pretty much the longest she'd stayed anywhere since Emily died,

"Are you planning on moving on from here?" He asked, and she just shook her head violently. The idea of moving on from this place, her home and her newly chosen family, was the last thing she wanted to consider, and she was absolutely certain that if push came to shove, she'd choose to stay here. So the last thing she was wanting was to move on.

"No, not at all, but I'm worried that they'll look at my records and see that I've been here two years and try to transfer me." That was the thing that had got her preparing to be torn away from this city that she loved. Sure, it was still a few months since she hit two years, but it was coming up, and it was also playing on her mind.

"I'll block it Brody. You're not gonna lose this family." He reached out and rubbed her shoulder lightly, the same way he always did when he was trying to reassure her of something. It actually worked this time too. Knowing that Pride wasn't going to let her go without a fight made her feel better.

"Thanks Pride." That was something she had been so afraid of, any reassurance was more than she had expected. So not that she had it, there was a weight lifted off her. It made her feel better about being stuck in the city for Christmas too. She didn't need to pull away, because she wasn't going to leave.

"There is another family you're not gonna lose." Pride said after a few minutes, and she just narrowed her eyes. Another family? Was he implying Loretta and Sebastian, because she tended to count the lot of them as being all one big family.

"What do you mean?" She asked, confused about that statement. She had already mostly lost one family, though she and her mom were on better terms than they had been in a very long time. James wasn't quite family yet, though she hoped to change that in this coming year. So she looked at him curiously and he just smiled more.

"Go through to the kitchen. Go on." He nodded and shooed her in that direction. She had to admit she was curious, and she wanted to know that exactly it was that he was implying, so going out and doing as he said just seemed like a better plan.

She just looked at him then stepped out across the courtyard, and as soon as she stepped into the kitchen she was greeted by familiar figures. She was more than a little surprised, as she had expected them to be up in Michigan by now, definitely not here in New Orleans. She hadn't thought she'd see them until New Year. "Mom, dad." She smiled, taking a breath as her father wrapped her up in his arms for a moment.

"James called, said he didn't know if you'd be done for New Years." Paul explained and smiled a little, letting her go so that she could give her mom a hug. "So we changed our flights and came here instead." That was nice, and Brody was more than a little touched by that. She then turned to James and gave him a questioning look.

"Pride told me you needed something to pick you up a little." He explained, bulling her softly into his arms too. She didn't mind so much for a moment, though normally she would be totally against this when she was working. Right now, it felt more like she was taking a much needed break. "I used your car to pick them up."

"I'll punish you later." She teased, just smiling happily up at him. This was one of the kindest, most thoughtful things anyone had even done for her, and it made her feel even more confident in her decision to stay here. She loved the city, she loved the people, and she loved the fact that she was finally home.

"I'm looking forward to it." James laughed as the others started joining them in the kitchen, introducing themselves to her father and telling stories about when her mother had been in New Orleans a couple of months earlier. James' focused never changed, and he just smiled at her. "I love you MB."

"Me too. You arranged all this for me?" She asked needlessly, and then laughed a little and for the first time she could remember doing in public she stepped up and kissed him hard, feeling his arms wrapping around her to hold her tight to him.

"Of course I did, I'd arrange anything for you." He admitted when they pulled apart, and all she could do was smile a little more. She then looked around the room at everyone else gathered a little guiltily, but James just smiled and kissed her once more. "Go, I'll just hang out with Patton and try to get his secrets."

"Good luck." She smiled a little and kissed him once more then stepped back, walking over to just hug her dad. Somehow, this had made her Christmas, even though she had to work, they had no presents and the office was still a mess after she and Sonja had had the glitter fight a few days earlier, but it felt more like Christmas now than it had in days. This was what she'd needed.


	5. Chapter 5

After a long while at the office, Pride had told them to give up for the night, and retire to the bar so they could see in Christmas together. After a while Pride and some people started playing music, and Merri watched as people separated out, laughing and dancing. Everyone had joined them there, the whole team, the kids, Orion and Sebastian's girlfriend. It was a nice way to spend Christmas Eve. James came and took her hand after a while, and pulled her up to dance with him. "You have truly surprised me. Arranging all this." She smiled, keeping hold of him as they started dancing together slowly, she wondered if the impossible had happened, just for a minute, and James had become an old romantic. "Have you gone soft on me?"

"Only for Christmas MB, I'll be back to being me when all this is over." He clearly understood that she was teasing him from the off, and that was something else that reminded her that they were perfect together. She was so happy that, between the two of them, they had worked all of this out. The truth was though, if he was like this all the time she would get bored of him so quickly.

"Good, because I'd miss you if you were like this all the time..." She left that hanging and just grinned a little wider. She had to smile when his hands dropped a little lower and landed on her ass. "It's a bit weird, you being so nice." She felt like clarifying, because James could be a terror for not understanding exactly what she meant.

"It is weird." He admitted, leaning down to kiss her neck softly. She had to try and stay quiet. James knew that kissing her neck like that was going to get a response out of her, and not one that people here needed to see. "I just felt like you deserved to be spoilt a little this Christmas." James' reason made her smile.

"You certainly did that." She added, holding James close as they swayed to the music. She could hear everyone around them talking and laughing. She'd never had a Christmas like this, it was normally just her and her parents, and normally quiet. "You coming here, bringing mom and dad out, and helping Pride set everything up. It's not like you." She grinned, looking around as James span her around softly.

"MB, we've not been back together even a year. You came to see me in May and we decided to give it another shot, and I proposed again after that thing in Texas in September." Why did he have to bring that case up. That had been the case that had made her realise they were serious, and that she was serious about him. For the first time in years she'd known what she wanted, and it was him. She was about to say that when he continued speaking. "The truth is, I can't stand the thought of letting you go again, and I'll try to prove to you every day that we belong together."

"James..." She said quietly, wanting to make a point that he no longer needed to jump through hoops. Merri loved him no matter what, and that wasn't going to change a single thing about how she felt for him. "You don't need to prove anything to me. What I said in March, about us not working… I was wrong, so very wrong." She really had been. They did work, and sometimes that was the problem. She tried to fight that, and that was where the problems came.

"You don't want normal?" He asked, clearly seeming like he was surprised by that. Despite all their conversations, how she sometimes felt like they understood each other, maybe she was wrong, and he needed it to be made more obvious to him. That would fit with the person he always had been. He was generally the most observant person in the world, but when it came to his personal life, he tended to not have a clue.

The truth was, she did want normal, but the feeling was that normal was never going to be something she had. She'd never had it before, so having it now was just going to be confusing. "I do, but somehow I get the feeling that… normal wouldn't work for me. I'd get bored." Sam had been normal, and that had ended with her sleeping with James. That was the last time she was with someone else who was 'normal'. The last thing she'd probably do is sleep with someone else now she was with James. "The last thing you and I will ever be is boring."

"We can do everything to your timetable, hopefully I won't need to take as many dangerous or overseas assignments." James was clearly trying to reassure her that this was what he was going to focus on, the two of them and their relationship. But as she was dancing around with James she couldn't really imagine anything different. "Because being here, with you, has reminded me why I never let go of this."

"We do seem to work very well together." She smiled thinking about their relationship, they had always just worked. As she stood there, feeling James gently swaying the two of them she thought about what she actually wanted, right now though she realised, she had everything that she wanted. "Just kiss me, yeah, then I wanna say something to everyone."

"I can do that, gladly." James grinned at her then pulled her into him. He kissed her hard, and she couldn't help but just kiss him back for a moment, until the last few notes of the song played and she just waved over to Pride, then ran up and grabbed hold of the microphone. Just deciding that saying something was better than doing nothing.

"Hey, everyone. Shut up." She shouted into it and smiled as everyone turned to her. She looked around a room full of the people she loved, and knew there were some things that she could say, some things that she couldn't. "I know we've still got a case ongoing, and that tomorrow morning we're all gonna be back searching for the bad guys, even if it's Christmas, but I wanted to take right now to just say something." She watched everyone else, seeing them looking at her confused, clearly wondering what she was going to say. "This year has not been the best of years, we've lost people, and we've gained people" She looked first at LaSalle, thinking about Savannah, and then at Percy. "We've brought new people into our lives and into this insane group that we call an NCIS team. Most of all though, we've been here, together, and I wouldn't change you guys for anything."

"Here, here." Someone shouted, but Brody wasn't entirely certain exactly who it was. She wasn't done yet. She wanted to thank everyone that was here, everyone that had made the journey to the bar, and everyone who had just turned up to help. It was really important that everyone know they were appreciated, and that she was happy that they were there.

"Also, thanks to James and Melissa, my parents, Laurel, Orion, CJ and Danny for just rounding out today, so we can celebrate it as a family." She looked around at each of the guests in turn, but leaving James until last so she could just smile when he ran up to grab her and lifted her into his arms. This was a side to her that she rarely let her team see, but she didn't mind showing them today.

After a few more hours of dancing, eating and talking, Brody was about ready to fall asleep on her feet, so she managed to convince James and her parents to head home. Just around the time all the others started to leave off to go home too. Eventually, after another coffee with her parents, she and James managed to get up to bed, while her parents too the guest room. "Have fun tonight?" He asked as he helped her get changed.

"Yeah. It was nice to be with everyone." She smiled, thinking about it all. She had truthfully enjoyed being with all of her friends, basically her extended family. She loved that, having them all around. Once again, it had helped.

"Your team are really close. I didn't realise that before." James comment just reminded her that everyone else had been stuck listening to all of this, but now he'd met all of her friends and chosen family, he now knew a lot about all of them.

"You didn't spend time with all of us before." She commented, thinking about it all. Being with the team was not something that outsiders managed to do a lot. Normally they saw them at work, or on the odd occasion they were all together it wasn't easy.

"That's true. Your speech was beautiful too." James kissed her then went to start getting changed. She was really enjoying almost all of this, and today had just been one of the best days. Now it was Christmas, and she was settled into all of this. She was settled into the position she was in now, and it worked. "You never told me what you wanted for Christmas?"

"Jay. I don't want anything for Christmas…" She really didn't, she had everything. She had James, her family, her friends. A job she loved in a city she adored. Everything that mattered was what was already there. So there was nothing new that James could give her, he had it all. "I already got everything I could want."

"And that is?" He asked, standing on the other side of the bed. She could understand why he didn't understand what she was trying to stay, or what she was thinking. She hadn't exactly been entirely clear recently, because she'd been so confused, but now she wasn't confused at all, she was certain of what mattered now to her.

"You." Merri just looked at him then came up and wrapped her arms around his neck and shrugged. She wanted him to understand that all of this had meant more to her than almost anything else. It had helped her finally centre herself, and that was important. Because now she knew beyond doubt she was doing the right thing. "This city, the family who were there tonight. I already got everything." She smiled and kissed him softly. Knowing all this was exactly what she needed. She had finally admitted to herself that she was happy here, and that she didn't want to leave. A Christmas miracle had happened, and Meredith Brody was finally happy.


End file.
